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Hey y'all, time for two truths and a lie.
嘿 大家好 让我们玩个两真一假的测谎游戏吧
I'm gonna tell you three things about myself, and you're gonna have to pick out the one that is not true.
我会告诉你们关于我的三件事 你们要找出哪件是假的
Ready? Okay. Number one, I have a machine at home that transforms plain water into carbonated water.
准备好了吗？好的 第一个 我家有一台机器 可以把淡水变成碳酸饮料
Two, I'm really bad at the card game Set, or three, Michael Jackson is my aunt. Is it that obvious?
第二 我打牌技术非常糟糕 第三 迈克尔.杰克逊是我姑妈 答案是否显而易见？
Yeeeeah. God, I'm so bad at game.
是…… 唉 我对游戏真是太不在行了
Lying! We do it a lot, and we're a lot better at it than you'd like to think.
撒谎！我们经常撒谎 而且我们比自己想象的更擅长说谎
Like, I'm not stupid, I could totally have made up a better lie than Michael Jackson is my aunt.
比如 我不傻 相比于迈克尔.杰克逊是我姑妈 我完全可以说一个更好的谎
But check it out, the fact that I appeared to be terrible at lying was in fact...A lie.
说白了 我看起来很不擅长说谎这件事 本身就是个谎言
In a ten minute conversation with a stranger, we humans will tell an average of three lies.
我们人类与陌生人进行一次10分钟交谈 平均要说三次谎
Researchers who study lying say that the subjects of these lying studies rarely even realize
研究说谎的调查者说 研究对象甚至往往意识不到自己在撒谎
that they're doing it. But why? What purpose does lying actually serve?
这是为什么？撒谎究竟是为了什么？
We'll to put human deception into perspective, it's worth pointing out, humans aren't the only fibbers in nature.
我们要理性地看待人类的撒谎行为 值得一提的是 人类并不是自然界唯一会撒谎的生物
My favorite anecdotal example of non-human lying - Koko the gorilla who was taught sign language back in the 1970's
有个关于非人类撒谎的很有趣的例子我特别喜欢 Koko 那只有名的大猩猩 被教会了手语 那是在二十世纪七十年代的时候
once actually blamed her pet kitten for ripping a sink out of the wall in her room.
有一次 她把房间墙上的水槽扯了下来 却把责任推到宠物猫身上
Bad...bad All Ball. So yeah, lying is nothing new in nature, but why do humans specifically do so much of it?
真坏…大家都好坏啊 所以说撒谎在自然界真不算新鲜事 但为什么人类特别爱撒谎？
Well as I've mentioned here before on a SciShow, humans are first and foremost social animals.
正如我在之前的一次SciShow中提过的 人类是最早的也是最有代表性的社会性动物
Got really super huge brains, and that's mainly because we need them for all the interacting we're always doing.
人类拥有超极容量的大脑 这主要是因为我们需要它去处理时时刻刻的社会交流信息
For humans, successful social interaction is key to success in much of our lives.
对于人类而言 成功的社会交流是生活中很多事情成功的关键
So it's clear that lying is a great way of keeping elaborate social structures running smoothly
所以很明显撒谎是很不错的方法 不仅可以维护精密的社会结构平稳运转
while looking out for number one.
同时还可以寻求自身利益最大化
For instance, if you can keep your social group happy you're going to reap all kinds of benefits like food,
打个比方 如果你可以让同伴高兴 你将得到非常多的好处 比如食物
higher social standing, more and better sexual partners,
更高的社会地位 更多更好的配偶 你知道你没法
and you know you don't make friends and influence people going around saying things like
交到朋友或是影响周围的人们
"Actually, that loin cloth does make your butt look big," or
仅仅通过说“确实 那件腰布裙使你的屁股看上去很大” 或是
"Hey, uh, I have been having sex with your brother while you're out hunting mastodon, so the little Glurg over there's...
“嘿 你出去猎乳齿象那会我和你哥哥XX了 所以那边的小Glurg
probably your cave nephew."So the ability to lie, and to detect a lie,
可能是你的侄子” 所以说谎 和识破谎言的能力
became pretty important to early humans because lying is actually not very easy for a brain to do,
对于早期的人类变得十分重要 因为 说谎对于大脑来说确实不是很容易
and it actually caused a bit of an evolutionary arms race.
它实际上会导致 大脑的进化竞赛
So people started to get better and better at lying, and better liars got better stuff,
于是人们开始变得越来越擅长撒谎 而且更擅长撒谎的人会得到更好的东西
while hopefully remaining in good standing with their communities.
同时很有希望在团体里保持好的地位
By the same token, those who were better at detecting lies
同样的 那些更擅长识别谎言的人
were cheated on by their mates and screwed over in camel trades a lot less often.
被配偶欺骗或者在骆驼交易中翻船的几率会小很多
So yes, now we've evolved to be good liars and also good at spotting bad liars.
所以是的 我们现在已经进化成撒谎高手 并且很擅长识别低级谎言
But as societies became more sophisticated, folks were like "Okay okay, enough with the lying!",
但随着社会变得越来越复杂 人们会说“好了 好了 别再撒谎了！”
because there are lots of advantages to living in tight-knit communities and structured societies,
因为生活在结构紧密的团体或者有组织的社会中 有很多好处
but y'can't really have them,
但是你无法真的拥有它们
when you don't know for sure if the kids you're raising are yours,
当你不确定你正在抚养的小孩是否是自己的
and if the camel you just bought has ever been in an accident or...Whatever.
或者你刚买的骆驼是否出过事故或其它……诸如此类的事
So a society in which bold face lying goes completely unchecked leads to... total anarchy!
而一个对厚颜无耻的面对面谎言完全不加以抑制的社会 会……完全失去秩序！
So organized societies started putting the hammer down.
所以有组织的社会开始使用锤子进行打击
Religious systems began to drive home the point that God rewards and cares for the truthful and punishes liars.
宗教系统开始引导人们 上帝会奖励和关爱说真话的人 也会惩罚说谎者
So if you could survive being thrown into the pond tied up with a sack of hammers,
所以如果你绑着一袋锤子被扔进池塘还能活下来
God was on your side and you were telling the truth. If not you were obviously lying.
那么上帝是站在你那边的 你说的那些是真话 如果没能活下来 那么很明显 你在撒谎
Oh, medieval European judicial system, how I love you.
Oh！中世纪欧洲的审判系统 我是多么爱你
Even in our modern times there are laws that prohibit lying and override even our rights to free speech.
即使是现代社会 也有法律明令禁止说谎 罔顾我们言论自由的权利
For instance, you go to a jail for lying in a court of law,
比如 你会因为在法庭上撒谎或者谎称
or for lying about having received a Medal of Honor for service in the armed forces.
自己因为在军队的奉献而收到了荣誉勋章而蹲监狱
Don't do that. Also 'cause you're not... evil. Why would someone do that? So lying. It's not okay.
别那样做 因为你又没那么……邪恶 为什么有人会撒谎呢 撒谎 是不对的
But we're also good at it, and our brains want to do it.
但是同时我们又擅长撒谎 而且我们的大脑想要撒谎
We start lying really early, some researchers say as early as six months old.
我们非常小的时候就开始撒谎 一些研究者声称我们早在六个月大时就会说谎
I mean you've seen a baby fake cry, right?
我指的是 你也见过婴儿装哭 对吧？
It's very obvious, like they're crying [fake crying noises] then they like,
那很容易看出来 比如他们正在哭［模仿婴儿假哭音］ 然后他们会看一下是否有人
check to see if anybody's coming over to sympathize, and then they're like "Oh, I'm going to keep crying then!"
过来表示一下关心 再然后他们会像这样“懊 我要接着哭了！”
Scientists think that this is the time when babies are actually learning how to be better liars.
科学家们认为这是婴儿 正式开始学习怎么成为一个更好的撒谎者的时候
By the time the kid's in college they're lying to their mom about once in every five interactions,
到了上大学 每五次和妈妈的交流中 他们大约会撒一次谎
And actually that seems low to me.
而实际上这对我来说是低水平的
I would say five out of five for my college experience.
我想说依我的大学经历 五次交流里我会说五次谎
Kids these days. Actually, kids every day.
这就是现在的孩子 确实 孩子每天都撒谎
By the time we're adults, we've gotten so very good at lying that we're actually able to do it to ourselves very effectively.
到我们成年 我们已经相当擅长撒谎 事实上我们还可以非常有效地欺骗自己
The trick to lying to yourself is in the holding of two pieces of conflicting information in your head at the same time
所谓欺骗自己 就是在我们的脑中 有两条相冲突的信息同时存在
and paying attention to one, while ignoring the other.
我们只关注了其中一条 而忽略了另一条
People who are good liars can hold a bunch of conflicting information in their heads all at once, and keep track of it all.
善于撒谎的人的大脑能将一连串相冲突的信息马上全部处理完 并且一切信息尽在掌控
Take pathological liars - people who habitually and compulsively lie, cheat, and manipulate other people.
拿那些病态撒谎者举例 即那些 撒谎成性 欺骗成瘾 爱操纵别人的人
The thing about pathological liars is that they're super good at self deception.
病态撒谎者非常擅长自我欺骗
At the moment they're telling it, they whole-heartedly believe their own lie.
当他们说谎时 他们全心全意地相信自己所说的话
Interestingly enough there is an actual difference between the brains of a normal person and the brain of a pathological liar.
有趣的是 的确存在不同 在正常人的大脑 和病态撒谎者的大脑之间
That difference is in the very front of the brain in a place called the prefrontal cortex.
不同之处在大脑最前部一个叫做前额皮质层的地方
Most neuro-science studies focus on the on the gray matter of the brain,
大多数神经科学的研究集中在 大脑的灰质
that's the material that actually processes information.
那些物质实际上负责处理信息的
However, nearly half our brains is made up of what's called white matter, which is composed of connective tissues that
然而 我们的大脑几乎有一半是由所谓的白质构成的 它由结缔组织组成
carry electrical signals from one group of neurons to another.
结缔组织将电子信号从一组神经元传递到另一组
So grey matter is where all the processing happens, and white matter connects the different parts of the brain.
所以灰质负责所有的信息处理 白质负责连接 大脑的不同部分
In a study at the University of Southern California, researchers found that pathological liars
在南加州大学的一项研究中 研究人员发现 病态说谎者
have about 25 percent more white matter in their prefrontal cortex than the rest of us,
前额皮质层的白质比一般人多约25％
suggesting that pathological liars can make a bunch of connections in their brain really fast.
这表明病态说谎者可以非常迅速地在大脑中做出一连串的联系
And that lets them keep all the information in order that they need to sustain the lie,
这让他们有条理地记住所有需要的信息 以此维持谎言
also to read the person that they're lying to, to suppress their emotions,
同时解读他们正在欺骗的人 对那些人进行施压
and probably believe what they're saying on top of it all.
最重要的是 使对方有可能相信他们所说的
So, why haven't pathological liars taken over the world?
所以 为什么病态说谎者还没有接管这个世界
I mean they seem to be the next step in human evolution.
我的意思是他们似乎是人类进化的下一步
While pathological liars have a surplus of white matter,
其实不然 病态说谎者是有比较多的白质
they also have around 14 percent less gray matter than other people,
但同时他们的灰质比其他人少14％左右 而灰质
and gray matter is where all the critical thinking happens.
是所有批判性思维发生的地方
So the white matter is all alike, "I'm gonna tell Jim I used to be a fighter pilot!"
所以白质多的人只会说 “我要告诉吉姆我以前是个战斗机飞行员！”
and the grey matter's all "I could tell Jim I used to be a fighter pilot,
而灰质多的人则会分析 “我可以告诉吉姆我以前是个战斗机飞行员 但我也许不应该这样做 因为
but I probably shouldn't because that would jeopardize my relationship with Tammy."
那会危及我和苔米的关系”
So extreme liars have a really hard time maintaining relationships and holding down jobs
所以说极端说谎者很难维持人际关系并
because after a while everybody realizes that they're full of crap, and they get dumped or fired.
保住工作 因为不久之后每个人都会意识到 他们满脑子废话 结果是被抛弃或被解雇
Which is not ideal for the person. It's great for everyone else.
这对说谎者来说是适得其反 但对其他人都是好事
But if there are these super liars out there, how do we know if we're being lied to?
但如果真有超级骗子 我们要怎么知道自己是否正在被欺骗？
I mean, lie detectors might be able to pick up signals like change in the liar's voice,
我的意思是 测谎仪也许可以捕捉到信号 比如骗子声音的变化
or increased heart rate, or sweating, all stuff that we do when we're fibbing outright.
或心率的增加 或出汗 所有那些 在我们真的在撒谎时的身体变化
But a really good liar might not display any of those symptoms.
但是一个真的擅长撒谎的人也许不会显示任何这种症状
Well, no matter how good of a liar you are, the fact that you are lying will often leak out,
然而 无论你是一个多么好的说谎者 你正在说谎这件事 常常会露馅
both through your body language and through your word choices.
通过你的肢体语言和你的词汇选择
Let's look at a sample sentence.
让我们看一个简单的句子
"Believe me, I was not the one who farted and evacuated that movie theater!" So do you believe me?
“相信我 我不是那个放屁的和导致人们撤出那家电影院的人！” 你相信我吗？
Probably not, because I did three things in that sentence
可能不相信 因为在那个句子里我做了三件事情
that made you totally certain that I was in fact the person who made them evacuate the movie theater.
使你完全确信实际上是我让他们撤出 电影院的
To wit: one, I said "believe me". Liars will always say that,
即：一 我说“相信我” 而骗子总是会那样说
or "to be totally honest", or Richard Nixon's favorite "in all candour".
或者“老实说” 又或者理查德.尼克松最喜欢的“坦白讲”
Two, I all of a sudden stopped using contractions.
二 我突然停止使用缩略语
Liars often use more formal language to deny something that they've actually done.
撒谎者经常使用更正式的语言来否认他们确实做过的事情
And three, I said "that movie theater" instead of "the movie theater" -
三 我说“那家电影院”而不是“电影院”
I was trying to distance myself from the whole situation.
我正在试图与整个局势保持距离
We think of liars as being fidgety, but we actually tend to freeze our upper bodies when we lie.
我们以为说谎者是坐立不安的 但实际上我们倾向于在说谎时保持上半身僵硬
We make more, not less eye contact. Maybe a little too much to overcompensate for telling a fib.
我们会做更多的 而不是更少的目光接触 为了撒个小谎这也许有点矫枉过正了
Liars will also do things like shake their heads while saying yes
说谎者还会做下面这些事 比如在说“是”的时候摇头
and smile when they're done telling a story even if it's a terrible one.
比如讲完一个故事会笑 即使那是个恐怖故事
All of this stuff, the reading of what we leak through our words and bodies is actually the future of lie detection -
所有这些 通过观察我们的用词以及肢体语言所泄露的信息 实际上是测谎的未来趋势
training law enforcement officers to read potential criminals to catch them in the act of lying.
训练执法人员去解读潜在罪犯（所泄露出来的信息）从而在罪犯说谎时将其逮捕
Of course they're always coming up with new kinds of gadgets all the time too.
当然人们也常常发明出各种各样的新的小工具
Eye trackers, MRI brain scanners that are going to replace the old lie-detector tests.
眼球跟踪器 核磁共振成像脑部扫描仪将会代替老式测谎仪
Maybe I'll tell my two truths and a lie on a brain scanner, see how it does.
也许我可以试试对着脑部扫描仪说我的两真一假 看看它会怎么反应
Pretty sure we all know how that's going to turn out. Yeah, you're right.
摄影师：非常确定我们都知道会发生什么 好吧 你是对的
I'm a terrible liar. Or am I?
我是一个糟糕的说谎者 也许不是？
Thank you for watching this infusion.
感谢观看这期节目
All of the facts contained within are not lies, we promise.
我们讲述的所有的事实都不是谎言 我们保证
But if you wanna check there are citations in the description, of course because we're scientists here.
但是如果你想较真 描述部分有写明引文出处 是的因为我们在这里是科学家
If you have ideas for future episodes of infusions you can leave those in the comments or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
如果你对未来的节目有想法 你可以在评论区留言 也可以通过Facebook或Twitter联系我们
Also questions, we'll be happy to answer those as well. See you next time.
有问题也欢迎来问 我们同样会非常开心去解答 下次见
